The Marriage of State
by Omnicurls
Summary: "I thought fire benders were supposed to be feisty?" "Well, there's feisty and then there's you." Just because Toph has to marry for political reasons does not mean she will settle for just anyone. Zuko is charged with finding Toph a suitable husband, but when she runs off on 'an adventure', she sets them down a path that changes the four nations forever.
1. Lady Bei Fong

**Lady Bei Fong**

It had to be a trick. She must have had something planned and was simply biding her time. There was no way Toph would sit quietly and obediently throughout the journey from the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Kingdom. Lao Bei Fong shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes fixed on his bull-headed daughter who for some unknown reason had transformed into the vision of docility and serenity. Somehow this terrified him more than her usual self. She must have something planned.

"You are not going to object to this?" he asked, putting on his air of power and self-assurance.

"If you are going to sell me off for trade benefits, I would rather someone I trust pick my future husband." Toph said curtly, her milky-green eyes fixed straight on his dark ones. It still unnerved him how she could stare at him so unblinkingly. He knew she could not see, but still he felt as though his daughter could see into his soul.

Toph clenched her hands into a fist in the fabric of her dress, the silk folded easily under her calloused palms. Sometimes, she wondered how her father could be so immensely _thick_. You would have thought sixteen years with her would have taught him that he could never make her do anything. But the bull-headed man would never stop. He kept trying to make her do things, make her be his perfect little china-doll of a daughter.

The carriage pulled to a stop and a fire nation soldier opened the door. "Lady Bei Fong," he said as he offered his hand to her and bowed deeply. Toph placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her out of the carriage. It was all part of the charade anyway; every soldier knew that this slight woman in an excess of green and beige could send them straight to the center of the earth if she wanted to. She stepped down and relished the feel of cold, hard stone underneath her bare feet. Yes, she would wear the dress, and the make-up, the perfume, the jewelry. Hell, she would even let them twist and tease her hair into unnatural shapes. But, it would be a cold day in hell before she let them cover her feet.

He felt so familiar. She would never tell the others, but Zuko was the one she would forget last. His walk, his heart-beat, his breath was so distinctively _Zuko_ that she did not even have to think. She just felt him. "Hey, the princess became a queen!" she yelled with a smirk. Some other time, she might have gathered up the excess of dress and ran towards him, but today she was putting on a show for the old man in the carriage so instead she walked like the lady she was.

Zuko could barely believe his eyes. Yes, he had seen her before, but it had been two far too long years and she the last time he saw her, she was not pretending to be a lady. So it was true after all, Toph really was Lady Bei Fong. He watched, shocked as she gracefully walked towards him. Somewhere in her parents' etiquette training she had lost that boyish swagger she had so carefully practiced, in its place was a light, graceful walk that was almost a glide. But somehow in her normal, oversized clothes it seemed less pronounced. In a dress however, that was a different story.

"Wow, you are a girl?" Zuko teased.

"Zip it sparky," she said under her breath, "I have a reputation to uphold." She was about to say something else when she heard her father speak from behind her. Normally, she should have been behind him. She was supposed to quietly watch him dictate her future. But that would only happen over her dead body.

"Firelord Zuko." Lao bowed deeply.

"can we leave him like that?" Toph whispered to Zuko who pushed her aside playfully.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Great, everyone is introduced." Toph cut in quickly as she grabbed Zuko's arm, "now show me the ducks. I miss the duckies."

Lao cringed; of course the perfect lady he had travelled from the earth kingdom with could not last. But she could be worse; he had seen her be worse.

Zuko had to speed up to catch up with Toph who was racing to the gardens. It was strange, for a girl who hated water she really loved water animals. She sat on the grass, her silk dress forming a pool of beige around her. "Why has it been so long?" He asked as he settled down beside her.

"Because it had to be." She said, her voice making it clear that she did not want to speak about it any further. But Zuko was not one to give up easily; the first thing he had learnt about being friends with Toph – actual friends – was that she tried to hide a lot, and if he let her he would never get anywhere with her.

"Why though? You could have come to visit me anytime. You never let me come and see you. Katara said you were fine but I missed you." He said. He was never this open with anyone, but something about Toph made him feel as though she understood. She made him feel like he did not have to be strong around her because she could see his weakness and still not judge him for putting on a façade of strength.

"Well, I needed space princess."

"From me?" He sounded both confused and hurt, "why would you need space from me? We have always got along so well. You were essentially my advisor for the first two years of my rule. You and I rebuilt the fire nation."

"They needed me in the earth kingdom. I needed space from the gaang, and from rebuilding your home, to hold mine together. Somehow, I am the face of the earth kingdom, the great national hero. After the war the territories started to splinter and the king asked for me. I'm not royal, being noble is hard enough. I could not handle all four nations." She lowered her head and for the first time Zuko saw that she was not this mystical wise, being. Her father had raised her very well, and very intelligent. She had an excellent mind for business and nation – no empire building. It started out with her giving advice, and in less than a year she was the defacto advisor to aang and his dreams of an air nation, Sokka and his dreams of restoring the southern water tribe, and him and his lost and disgraced nation.

"Oh my goodness you were twelve." He said in disbelief, "you just seemed so much older because you knew more."

"I wasn't supposed to get tired. Rock does not get tired." She clenched her hands into a fist, "then I felt like I failed you guys. Especially after the battle in the Southern water tribe and hearing that people moved out of the air temples. I just hid."

Zuko wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Don't worry, I survived the assassination attempts."

Toph pushed him away in mock annoyance. "You, princess, are asking for it." She smiled at him. For the first time, Zuko noticed how she looked both delicate and fierce at the same time. If you merely glanced at her you would see the perfect, delicate-looking princess, but if you looked closer you would instantly think twice about crossing her.

He was about to speak when one of his servants interrupted him. "Firelord Zuko, Lord Bei Fong would like to meet with you in private."

Zuko hesitated, but rose to his feet the moment Toph motioned for him to go. "You should have told me," He said, "I would have told you. We tell each other everything."

"You can whine later. My father is not very fond of waiting." Toph said as she turned her attention back to the ducks. Zuko lingered a little longer and watched as she played with the 'duckies'. He could not help but feel so immensely guilty for making her shoulder so much. All the while she was frantically travelling from nation to nation, trying to solve crisis after crisis, no one had given a single thought to how it affected her. In their minds, she was Toph; she was the backbone of their group. Strong, fearless and incredibly resilient, it had never crossed their minds that perhaps rebuilding all four nations was too much for even the greatest earth-bender in history.

Zuko felt so strange walking with Lao Bei Fong as equals. Somehow, just knowing he was Toph's father made Zuko nervous. Perhaps it was the stories he had geard from Toph, or it was the fear that there might be a bit of her in the slick, kempt man and if that part showed, Zuko's façade of political savviness might just fall apart.

"Firelord Zuko, as you might know our nations rely heavily on each other. Historically it has been out trade that made our nations so strong, and after the war, we need each other more than ever, no matter how uncomfortable that relationship might be."

Zuko used to get uncomfortable at the mention of the war, but he had quickly gotten over that. "Yes lord Bei Fong, but unfortunately the earth kingdom has been less than willing to revive that relationship."

"Trust me Fire Lord, I am just as upset by the situation as you are. As is the Earth King. Both nations are suffering from this icy relationship." Lao slowed his paced and admired the elegant garden "there simply is no trust between out nations."

"That is understandable; there is no reason for you to trust us yet. The fire nation has a long way in terms of proving itself." It was a hard truth Zuko has come to accept. He would spend his whole reign fixing his nation's reputation and it would be a long and difficult road.

"But, perhaps there is a way to speed that up." Lao said, and suddenly Zuko was a little more than apprehensive. All the questions he should have asked earlier flooded his mind: why would the Earth King send the Bei Fongs and not his regular ambassador? And why had Toph suddenly reappeared after two years, without so much as a warning?

"And how would you suggest?"

"Well, as you may know after your little 'adventures' my daughter became some-what of a national hero. The Earth people love her unconditionally, and with her discovery of metal-bending they are hailing her as a new cultural leader destined to pave the way to Earth Kingdom greatness. To capitalize on her popularity, the King suggested that if Toph married a fire nation noble it might ease diplomatic relations. Her marriage would be a sign of unity between out nations."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Zuko asked nervously. He knew being noble was full of un-pleasantries and ridiculous agreements, but even this was way too much for him. No marrying Toph off to him was just downright stupid; would the fire nation lose its lord or the earth kingdom its hero?

"I know you care a lot about my daughter. But not nearly as much as I do." Lao said, his voice losing a little of its haughtiness. Zuko almost laughed at the man's insistence that he cared about his daughter; he did not even know her. Someone who would rather lock Toph away did not understand what caring about her meant. "I was hoping you would find her a good suitor."

Zuko stopped. He was not sure why, but the thought of finding Toph a husband just seemed _wrong_. He could not handpick someone who was worthy of her; Toph chose who was worthy. He could not be part of this conspiracy to plan her life. "Lord Bei Fong, I don't think I can."

"You afford my daughter more freedom than I ever could. She trusts you. Toph agreed to this on the grounds that you choose her husband."

"She agreed?" Zuko asked incredulously, "Toph? The one I know?"

Lao smiled, "Strange I know. But aside being incredibly stubborn and rebellious, she is almost intelligent and loyal. She will do anything for those she loves, and she loves her kingdom. She knows out nations' cooperation is the crux in moving all four nations forward. No matter how she acts, in the end my daughter is still a noble and nobles do what they have to for their people."


	2. Water Boy

**Water Boy**

"Your father describes you as '_almost_ intelligent and loyal"

Toph threw her head back and laughed with the kind of care free abandon she had not been able to for a while. "That old man, he can't come to terms with the fact that I do make good decisions. I ran away, and ended up helping to save the world."

"What about agreeing to an arranged marriage, is that intelligent or _almost_ intelligent?" Zuko asked as he looked at his friend sitting across the table from him. She was slumped in the chair while her bare feet rested on the chair next to her. He could not for the life of him understand why should would put herself in the position whereby she might end up with a man who did not understand that wild, rebellious Toph was a thousand time more endearing than Lady Bei Fong.

"It's intelligent. Deal with it." Toph said flippantly, "your problem is that you don't like that it is intelligent. And I feel ya, trust me I don't like the thought of you killing yourself to fix your nation. But like my future marriage, it is what we nobles have to do."

Zuko wanted to say something. To tell her that she was wrong and that she could just run off again and build her own world. She was Toph, she could quite literally build a whole new world just for herself. But it would not be the Earth Kingdom and she could never love a nation more than she loved her home. He found himself wanting to reach out and touch her, reassuringly. Perhaps put his hand on hers, or squeeze her shoulder lightly just to let her know that he did understand. After all, that was their bond – the two 'spoiled' brats of the Gaang who understood all too well each other's burden.

Toph placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward, "So Fire Lord Zuko, when do you start pairing me off with all the annoying bachelors you are dying to get rid of. If there is someone you don't like, marrying me off to that person could be one hell of a sentence. Imagine it."

"There is going to be a welcoming ball for you." Zuko could not help but awe at how amused she was by all this. She was grinning from ear to ear as though it were a huge joke. Perhaps that was how she dealt with the unpleasant things in life. She just laughed at them till they really did become funny. "Officially," he continued, "It is meant as a way to honour the Earth Kingdom and show solidarity between our nations. But really, I just need you to pick who you might consider so I at least know where to start in this whole 'marrying you off' disaster."

"Why are you afraid to pick for me?" She teased. It was meant as a joke, but when he took on that serious tone and admitted to it, her smile faltered.

"I can't pick someone for you. You're _you_. When you were twelve, you knew more about life and the world than almost anyone else. Uncle Iroh thinks you are one of the greatest women he has ever met. Me? I almost helped destroy the four nations. What could you possibly need me for?" The moment Zuko spoke those words the ground beneath him shifted forward violently and slammed him into the table. Coughing, and clutching his stomach in pain, Zuko was about to demand an explanation when Toph stood up and took that stance he secretly referred to as the 'Toph' stance, the one where she seemed almost ten-feet tall and god-like.

"We are well past the stage where I give you pep-talks. You and I both know that you always rise up to the occasion and give everything your best, so stop questioning my judgment and get it together Fire Lord." She folded her arms across her chest and looked away in mock-irritation, "and you wonder why I stopped visiting. This picking you off the ground every time you are in the presence of my greatness gets old."

Zuko could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He had almost lost his fire. Just having Toph around reminded him of just how dull and formal his duties had made him. Sulking about incompetence? She had verbally beaten that out of him years ago, how the hell had it made it back into his psyche? Whichever idiot she ended up with probably would not understand just how much strength she inspired in those around her.

"Yeah, ok just go off on how you are the greatest earth bender. Should I bow?" He asked sarcastically.

"Only after I destroy you at Pai Sho." She smirked.

Honestly, she would have loved to just play Pai Sho forever and not think about the upcoming ball. She put on a brave face for everyone else, because she was Toph and she could handle anything. But married? She did not even want to get married talk less of marrying a complete stranger. And of course he would have to be from one of the noble families, so he would most likely be very much into the idea of 'proper'. He would not want to just get up and go somewhere crazy to do something stupid because he just could. She dug her nails into the palm of her hand and chided herself. There was no use in mentally creating the worst case scenario. Miracles could happen. Maybe she would find the one man who she could, on a good day, tolerate being stuck with for the rest of her life.

The moment the doors opened the room fell quiet. Zuko accompanied her. She was the only green in a sea of red and gold, a prime target standing out for all the fire nation hopefuls. She could feel herself dying a little on the inside. Once they were on the other side of the room Zuko, with grace and assertiveness she did not know he possessed, motioned and suddenly the room came alive again. The silence was better. People were clamouring to speak to her, to introduce themselves or their sons or nephews or cousin's grand-son. She almost felt sick, but being Lady Bei Fong she matched Zuko's stoic grace with ease. Once in a while she would search him out, and budge the earth beneath him lightly in order to get his attention and he would make his way towards her to save her from whoever was suffocating her. Or rather save them from her.

"A lot of people opposed the war, but we had no choice but to follow our Fire Lord." This time she had been cornered by a man who seemed promising at first, but turned out to be nothing more than arrogance, stoicism and condescension. This was rich for a man who never raised a voice against a war he opposed.

"Well you could have fought on the other side. A number of fire nation people did." Toph said. She was so good at being Lady Bei Fong that the man had no idea that she was fighting the urge to bury him waist deep in the ground.

"That is the privilege of the masses. Nobles have a slightly heavier burden." He sneered. She budged the earth beneath Zuko so sharply that he almost stumbled.

"What to play nice with whoever is in power? My duty is not to be a sycophant."

"Yes, but your rank was bought, not handed down. Merchant families don't have a lineage to protect." He was cold, and dismissive.

"Pardon me?" She said, he heard the ice creeping into her voice and quickly realized his mistake.

"I did not mean to offend you, what I meant was that your family holds power in trade. Merchants make money out of air; every kingdom needs your kind. So you often enjoy more freedom than most. You also don't have the name of your house resting on your shoulders."

Normally it was rude to walk away, but Zuko was taking too long and this man trying to speak to her was tempting fate and pushing the boundaries of her manners. "Thank you for the enlightening conversation," she let just enough sarcasm into her voice to let him know she was furious, "I am afraid I have to leave now." Toph turned and walked away. The man tried to follow her, but the moment she was two steps away from her, someone else took the chance to whisk away the earth bender both nations were relying on to restore their relations.

"You should have hit him."

"Yes, but that is not exactly lady-like." Toph said, relaxing into the conversation. If his aim was to stand out, this man certain started off very well.

"Yeah, but let's be honest, you are the Blind Bandit first, and a lady second." He smiled, "Of all the stories that came out about the Avatar and his friends, I found yours most interest. The lady who is secretly a national wrestling champion? That's the stuff people like Jozhou, whom you were talking to, wake up dreading"

"Well he is lucky I have to be nice, otherwise he would have something else to dread."

"Oh, I was hoping to see you send him flying through the ceiling." He laughed when she rolled her eyes. "I am Shen, by the way. I would kiss your hand or something charming like that, but I am not in the running for suitor, so I better not waste my limited charm. I am just a really big fan of yours."

She was about to ask when he meant when Zuko showed up. Tall, regal, intimidating and very much Fire Lord Zuko, he was almost as good at putting up a façade as she was. "Fire Lord Zuko." Shen bowed deeply.

"You are late, I almost sent one some guy straight to the center of the earth." She said just loud enough for Shen and Zuko, who were closest to her, to hear.

"Jozhou? Well, the fire nation is always sad to lose a pompous idiot." Zuko said dryly, "He makes it known that he thinks I am an idiot because I did not appoint him to my advisory council."

"No, no, he thinks you are almost intelligent." Toph smiled, and Zuko could not help but laugh.

"One day, he will wake up and find he has to fight an agni kai with me. Then he'll shut up."

"Oh you missed him essentially calling me a peasant. Real keeper, that one." Toph said, her tone equally as sarcastic as Zuko's, "Although I do recall a certain exiled prince calling me a peasant."

Zuko placed his hand on her forearm and looked at her deeply and said with mock affection, "You will always be a peasant in my eyes."

"And you will always be a spoiled, whiny exiled brat in mine." Toph replied, feigning sincerity.

"Says, the spoiled, whiny run-away brat." Zuko laughed. She pushed him just lightly enough for him to feel it.

"I will murder you in Pai Sho and then earth bend you so far down you'll end up in the South Pole. Just ask Shen, I could beat you in my sleep." She turned to ask Shen to agree with her but he was gone. "Where did he go?" She was about to look for him when another man struck up a conversation with her.

She did not find Shen again until much later when the night was almost over. She had snuck away to get some piece of mind and some air. This was by far the most taxing event she had ever been to and it was certainly taking its toll on her.

"Ah, so we meet again Lady Bei Fong." Shen's voice came out of nowhere, and although she was looking to be alone, somehow she was excited to find him again.

"Oh, it's my biggest fan."

"Fate just sends blessings my way." He said as he walked to her side, "I get to talk to the infamous Blind Bandit again."

"Well, now I am a lady doing my civic duty for the stability of our world. I get to be a 'hero' twice." Toph said dryly, "although to be honest, the first time was much more fun."

"If you do get bored enough, you are always welcome to take me on one of your adventures. I am also tired of being a good little well-born boy. You know I am going to fall for some crazy girl and my parents are rather lenient, but I going to bring home someone who is really, just out there and unpredictable."

"Why aren't you 'in the running'?" Toph asked. She could not help but think that perhaps, if she were forced to deal with someone for the rest of her life, Shen was probably a little more than tolerable.

"My mother is from the Northern Water Tribe, and I was lucky enough to be born a water-bender. For symbolic reasons, we just won't work. They need someone very 'fire nation' for you." Shen shrugged, "Also I would rather the Fire Lord did not secretly hate me for the rest of my existence. He is nice and all, but I have heard rumours about that temper."

"You know Zuko is essentially picking the person I end up shackled to?"

"And for that he is a good friend, but no one is _that _good a friend." Shen looked at her and smiled. It has been so obvious to anyone watching closely enough. Perhaps people just played blind because they wanted to believe another truth. "If I tell you why, you take a trip with me? I want to experience just a few days in your life with the Avatar's group. I want to go flip cabbage carts and leave my mark on at least some tiny corner of the world."

"Fine, maybe. Stop begging, it's sad." Toph said in that assertive voice that told him Lady Bei Fong had definitely retired for the night.

"Well, you and the Fire Lord are more than 'friends'. You just don't know it yet, and when he finds out, your 'husband' will be the thing between him and what he wants. Tell me Fire Lord Zuko is a good enough friend to just overlook that."

His assertion caught her so off guard that for a split second she was speechless. And then she came through, "Are you crazy? Zuko and I are like siblings."

"Well, he is definitely far deeper gone than you are. But on your part, it is starting. Just wait." Shen said. He was amused by her reaction because he could see her trying to pretend as though she was not suddenly reassessing her friendship with the Fire Lord. "But he is not in the running either. So, your best options are gone. Let's go on an adventure, who cares anyway?"

"Your theory is stupid so I don't owe you an adventure. Try again next time, water boy." Toph said as she walked back towards the party.

Shen watched her glide away. She was going to get up and go, he could already see it in her eyes that she dying to take him up on his offer. All it would take was a little bit more effort.

The moment Toph returned Zuko was the first to her side. "Did you finally have enough of the crème de la crème of the fire nation? They get sickly sweet really quickly." He said, "I get tired of them and I am one of them"

"Please princess, you are a cheap imitation I am very grateful for. Is this what people are like when they really want something? When I went to these events with my father, I never really noticed. Also, I guess my family was never the center of attention."

"But peace has been extremely kind to the Bei Fong estate, and you are the heirless Earth King's favourite and a national favourite. Half the people in this room expect the Earth Kingdom to screw over succession in your favour."

"Don't. It's not true and I don't want it. It's a stupid rumour." Toph cut in sharply.

"Hey, repeat it enough times and it might become true. See, to a lot of people here you are the means to climb the ladder a little higher. You know an idiot or two sees himself as one day being consort to the Earth Queen. That's why they are so suffocating and disgusting, and that's why we have to make sure you find a decent person."

"And you wonder why I asked you." Toph nudged Zuko gently. He placed his hand on her shoulder in response and for the briefest moment Toph felt her stomach constrict. 'It wasn't real' she told herself, 'that stupid Shen put the idea there'. But on another level, she knew it had always been there.

"And Shen?" She asked, curious about Zuko's opinion of him.

"I don't know much about him, but he come from one of the more eccentric families. You could do much worse than him, but his water-bending gets in the way of things. If you choose him, you might as well not go through with this stupid arranged marriage at all. And he knows that, but he also knows that you are 'almost intelligent' and just might surprise people at the very last minute." Zuko turned to Toph and placed both hands on her shoulder so she had to look at him, even though she technically could not see him. "I swear if you surprise me at the last minute we will no longer be friend. You are allowed to throw all this away, just tell me first. No more surprises like when you are your father just showed up."

"Fine, whatever" she put up her hands defensively. Then she suddenly became extremely aware of how close he was to her and she took a step back. "Calm down princess. I promise I won't go running off and leaving some poor man at the altar. I would ask you to secretly execute him and we'll pass it off as some great tragedy."

Toph kicked the ground and Zuko felt himself sway lightly. She smiled because she could feel him glaring at her with that feigned anger that she found absolutely endearing.

"I swear sometimes I don't know what to do with you," Zuko shook his head, "But I also don't know how I survived the years without you. I get so boring when you are gone."


	3. A Secret? What is That?

**A Secret? What is That?**

Shen held the tea cup in both hands, his eyes fixed on a point beyond the brown-haired woman. "And you think she will just follow you into the middle of nowhere?" The woman asked, her eyes fixed on her son.

"Not me," Shen replied, pausing to take a sip, "anyone. She is bored." He looked up, excitement would be putting mildly the look in his eyes. "I don't think I have ever seen a soul so steadfast and strong. Not to stereotype, but of course it would be an earth bender. When they say rock is unfaltering…"

The older woman nodded slowly and refilled his cup, "but is this 'unfaltering' soul going to let you use it?"

"Judging from the company she keeps, I doubt she knows much about manipulation. They are all brawn and head on fights, all fire and glory. She will never know whose design it was, until it is too late." He was nearly giddy with excitement. Generations of research and planning, failure and very close calls with forces he would never like to meet when he was unprepared, all that work was finally leading up to this one moment.

"Do you remember what I told you about her? She's not to be taken lightly. She is more insightful than the company she keeps."

Shen rolled his eyes and stood up. His mother had always been far too cautious for her own good. That was why she could never have been the one to complete their family's century old mission even though the time was ripe for her. But he would never say that out loud; it was easier for her to think that she failed simply because she died before her time. "Mother, we are about to take the spirit world. Let them keep the four nations, they are nothing compared to the crown we will take." Shen stood up, the fire in his eyes was unmistakable, "make sure the lion turtles are good and frightened, I will be visiting them soon with our little earth bender."

Shen watched as the grass and trees around him faded, the sounds of outdoors slowly gave way to the silence of the large, empty room. He cast one last, self-assured smile at his mother's spirit before it faded away with the rest of the spirit world. "Jia." At the sound of her name, the girl near the door who had been quiet until then looked up sharply. He walked towards her and held her face in his hands. He could see her trying to fight the blood rushing up to her cheeks. He always found it so amusing that she thought she could hide it. She had been completely in love with him for as long as they had known each other, and still she thought he did not know. How cute.

"Do you think I am crazy? Do you think I am reaching for too much?" He asked, his lake blue fixed stared directly into her dark ones, daring her to keep contact. "If I get the spirit world, I can crush the four nations and then both world will be mine. Now_that _would be an empire. Am I crazy?"

Jia looked down, unable to hold contact. "No, I think you can do it. You are already so close. I can tell you have the strength to succeed where the others failed."

Shen smiled. He always knew what she was going to say, but for some reason he still loved to hear her profess her blind allegiance. "_We_ are so close." He said before he kissed her forehead lightly. "I need you by my side Jia. Never forget that."

She burst into his office, a tornado of silk and lace. "I look like an idiot, I feel like an idiot, and that man I was just speaking to is most certainly an idiot. His stupidity rubbed off on me. Are all of you fire nation men like that? You look down on the earth kingdom because we have fewer factories and more farmers? I wonder what you smug bastards would eat if we decided to treat you the way you speak about us." She fumed. Hours of hearing how the fire nation, no matter how small, would always be greater than the earth kingdom has driven her very very close to hurting her last suitor.

"I warned you. They grew up hearing how the fire nation was the greatest gift to man, you don't just drop that mentality." Zuko shrugged, "also, dressed like that you look like a nice, docile princess. I doubt they quite understand just _who_ they are talking to."

"I wish I could make them." Toph said as she collapsed onto one of the chairs across Zuko's desk.

"I bet you would do a damn good job reminding them." Zuko said, letting out a short laugh. Toph settled into the chair and smiled. It was so strange how he could always calm her down in a few short sentences. Perhaps because they were both so stubborn and short-tempered, they knew just how to deal with each other.

"Yeah, but being all 'diplomatic' is so tiring. I swear it is harder than fighting a war." Toph pushed herself out of the chair, walked around the desk and sat on the its edge, "You know, sometime I just have to wonder why we get along so well."

Zuko put his pen down and looked up at her. It was because they were made for each other. His temper and moodiness never got to her, and her astounding stubbornness actually kept life interesting. They liked the same things and hated the same people. But perhaps most importantly, with each other, neither of them felt the need to be anything more or less than they actually were. "It's because we are both moody and spoiled." He said, it technically was part of the truth, "we get each other."

Toph placed her hands on her knees and leaned forward, "I don't know, it's strange for me to not see someone for years, and upon seeing them be as close as though no time ever passed. And now that I have to get married, I keep thinking about how close I am to you, and I can't help but wonder if I will ever be this close to anyone else. Honestly, I don't think so."

Zuko lowered his head slightly. For him, it was true that he could never be as close to, and honest with, anyone as he was with Toph. They had a special bond, and it was this bond that had made Mai decide that she and Zuko had no future together. She had said she could not compete with 'that earth bender' if he could not admit it was a competition. But he could not admit it, because at that time he himself did not know. But now, he could admit that it had always been a competition that Mai could never win. No one but Toph could win.

"Shen doesn't think so either," She continued, "He thinks we get along because we secretly like each other, and that means I really won't find a fire bender that quite suites me."

"Shen? Is he mad?" Zuko said a bit too defensively. Even though Zuko was trying his best not to blush, Toph could feel his heartbeat quicken and she knew that she _really_ had been blind. Perhaps a nicer person would have let it end there, but if she was forcing out confessions, she might as well put it all out there. It was better earlier, than later. Later, there might be a fiancé standing between them and an honest conversation.

"Yeah, I told him the same thing. I mean, when I liked you we were nowhere as close as we are now ."

"What?"

"Yeah, soon after the war I stopped liking Sokka, and I started liking you. I don't know, you were fun and cool, and made a mess of things in a very endearing way. I really liked fixing all the problems you created whilst you were still learning to be firelord." She rocked back and forth slowly, her sightless eyes appeared to be staring at something beyond the window, "Of all the nations to work with, the fire nation was my favourite because I got to spend time with you. And then it became my favourite because you were my best friend and after that, we got much closer much faster."

"You _liked_ me?"

Toph leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder, "What is the princess sad that it is in past tense?" she teased. She knew he would understand that sometimes things were so serious that the only she could deal with them was by laughing at them.

"No, it's just weird that I never knew." He said, trying hard to mask the emotions that were overloading his brain and making it difficult to fully grasp what was going on. He had so many questions but was afraid to ask, even if he did ask, where would he start?

"Don't lie to me. I know when you lie. If we are going to deal with this whole arranged marriage thing and not risk our friendship, we had to talk things through sooner than later. You can thank Shen for this, I was happy forcing myself not to notice until he had to spell it out."

Zuko placed his hand on hers and moved it off his shoulder. He kept his eyes fixed on her as he stood up. "Why did you bring this up if your solution is to 'work around' it? When you didn't know, I had to keep quite because I kept wondering how on earth I could bring it up. What would I say? No Toph, I won't help you because I like you so much that even two years apart did nothing to change how I feel?" He held her hand in both of his. He was too angry at himself and everyone, too overwhelmed, too embarrassed, too afraid to make sense. He was high on his emotions and the sheer uncertainty. "Well now that you know I can say what I wanted to say from day one. No. I won't help you find someone else."

The blush rising to her cheeks served as the fuel he needed to continue his streak of sheer insanity. He moved closer till they were barely a breath away. He laced the fingers of his right hand in hers, and stroked her cheek gently with his left "I don't want this whole circus of an arranged marriage to work. In fact, I want it to end. Now." He leaned forward, it was now or never; he had made it this far, so why back out now?

It took Toph a moment to regain her senses and realise what was going on. He was so close to her, his lips were almost touching her. She moved back sharply. "Zuko, are you crazy?" she demanded, her voice came out short and raspy because him being so close made her breathless. "I have a duty, and so do you. I need to go back to the earth kingdom and you need to stay here."

"Really? You are the last person on earth I imagine would let 'duty' hold you back."

She pushed him away and stood up from the edge of the table, "No, but if anything I said I _liked_ you. Past tense." She turned away from him and walked away.

Once Toph was out of his office and halfway down the hall, she broke into a full run. Gathering up her long skirt, she sprinted down the hallway, all the while cursing Shen, Zuko, herself and everyone under the sun. One moment she was running, and the next moment her feet suddenly lost contact with the group. She could feel something holding her but she could not tell who, or what, it was. For one thing, it had to be massive; each arm was as big as she was. And it felt oddly smooth, like how the surface of water feels. She kicked and screamed as she tried to tear away from its grasp, but it only held on tighter.

"When I said bring her here, I did not say kidnap her!" an all too familiar voice said.

"Shen?" Toph asked confused. Whatever was carrying her lowered her gently to the ground, as though Shen's chastising had made it wary of breaking her. Shen placed an arm around her waist and helped her down. "What the hell-" the moment her feet touched the ground her voice trailed off. She was in a forest, a massive forest, but the trees and the animals felt different from anything she had ever encountered. They were vibrating too strongly. Unless she was crazy, some of the plants were moving. It was so strange, even the earth beneath her feet felt alive.

"Welcome to the spirit world." Shen said from behind her, his voice holding a mixture of excitement and smugness.

"The spirit world?" Toph asked in disbelief as she walked around slowly, taking her time to reach out and touch as much as she could.

"A parallel world closed off from our physical world, except in special circumstances." Shen explained. He could tell. From the way she was reaching out for everything, taking her time to feel and take in the spirit world he had opened for her. From the excitement in her eyes he knew she was going to come with him. Predictable people were so easy. He stepped forward so he was by her side, "My family has always had a strong connection to the spirit world. We have been its guardians for centuries and now it is my turn. But that means I have 'forces' to introduce myself to, gates to explore, like when a king assumes his throne he must tour his kingdom." Shen paused and looked at her, "So Toph, would you come on an adventure with me into a world you didn't even know existed?"

She grinned ear to ear. She was already itching to run through the spirit world and find out just what it was. Her father had begged her for over a year before she finally conceded to the earth king's plan to marry her off to a fire bender. If he could wait a year, he could wait a few more weeks. "Do you really expect me to say no? Let's go now – wait no." She hung her head slightly, "I really want to go, but first I have to tell Zuko he made me promise not to run off without telling him. I guess he knows me too well."

"Sure, we have a week before we absolutely must leave." Shen grabbed her hands and smiled broadly, "Who thought I would get to travel with _the_ Toph Beifong?"

"Stop it waterboy, I am not some kind of hero." She pulled her hand out of his, "But you do have to tell me what the hell that thing that brought me here is."

"It's a spirit. I asked him to bring you here, I did not ask him to kidnap you. I am so sorry about that. You see, I can only ask favours of the spirit, I don't control them."

Toph folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes menacingly, "if you ever do that again I swear I will bury you waist deep in a desert and leave you there."

Shen put up his hands in mock surrender, "I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you by showing you around this tiny part of the spirit world?" Toph grinned and nodded. She could not remember the last time she had been so excited about anything. Part of her felt as though she had to be dreaming; new worlds did not just spring up for her to explore.

By the time she returned to the palace it was already dark. A part of her hoped she could sneak in an avoid Zuko, but with guards and servants everywhere, it took minutes for him to come marching in her direction. "What, are you angry or something?" Toph asked with a playful grin, if she made the whole thing into a joke, perhaps he would take the news of her 'adventure' much better. The last thing she wanted was to get into an argument with Zuko.

"I have been looking for you for hours."

"When I was a kid I ran away from home for months to go fight in a war. I think I can manage a few hours away from the palace without dying." She waved off his concern.

Zuko let out a sigh of frustration, "Who in this whole universe can deal with you?"

Toph was about to reply with yet another quip when she picked up on his nervousness. His heart was beating so fast it was as though he had just sprinted a marathon. "Are you ok princess?"

"Are you still going through with the arranged marriage?" He asked, "It's not fair if you do. You brought my feelings; I was ready to ignore them all the way, forever if I had to. But you _insisted_ on bringing them up. You don't get to do that to people."

"You can't guilt me into doing anything sparky." Toph snapped, "I will not be manipulated by anyone, least of all you. I know you far too well for that to ever happen."

"I am not trying to manipulate you." His voice rose to match hers, and he quickly caught himself. "I'm sorry. It's just, it's harder when I know you know how I feel."

She felt so bad. She felt horrible. But worst of all, she felt confused. A few years ago she would have killed for this to happen, but since she had decided – in the name of preserving a friendship – to move on, she was finding it hard to figure out just what she felt for the firebender. "I am leaving Zuko." There was no good way to say it. She tried starting with a joke, but he just had to get serious and talk about serious things.

"You are what?"

"I am going off, I am running off. Just like you told me not to do." She said in the most straight-forward manner she could and then walked past a frozen Zuko, after a few feet she paused. He was one of her best friends and it would hurt him if she just ran away from him right now, and she would be damned if she ever hurt one of her friends. "I am off to the spirit world. I know you have responsibilities as the fire lord, but if you can spare some time, you are always welcome to come with. In case you have forgotten, you still owe me that life-changing field trip from years ago."


	4. Make A Choice

**Make A Choice**

Zuko sat with his eyes fixed on the steam rising from the cup in front of him. Of course she would do this. "It's just like her to stroll into my life and turn it upside down. What am I supposed to do? Just abandon all my responsibilities as fire-lord and just stroll off into the spirit world?"

Iroh folded his arms across his chest and leaned back slight. When he first heard the knocking, no, banging on his door in the middle of the night, he knew something had to be wrong. He had just never expected this. "And how does she plan on getting to the spirit world? How does she even know about the spirit world?"

"If it weren't coming from you, I would not even believe such a place existed. If it is such a well-kept secret, how did she find out? I don't know how she plans on getting there, but it's Toph. I don't think she is joking."

Iroh nodded. It was true; the earthbender was something entirely different. She always found a way to surprise. But this time, if the surprise really was the spirit world, he had to have eyes on the ground to make sure that the spirit world and the physical world remained safe from each other. "You have to go with her."

Zuko almost spat out his tea. "Are you crazy Uncle? I can't just leave the fire nation. I am the fire lord, I have a responsibility."

"Have you listened to nothing I have said?" Iroh shook his head, sometimes he felt as though no matter how much his nephew matured nothing about their relationship would change. "Our world and the spirit world must remain in balance. Without that balance, ruling the fire nation will be ten times harder than you ever imagined. You have to go with Toph, be my eyes and tell me if you see anything strange. I will stand in as fire lord until you return."

"I should tell you if I see anything strange in a world that until thirty minutes ago I had no idea existed? That should be easy." Zuko said sarcastically.

"Zuko, you don't understand, but the things that could go wrong may end our very world." Iroh said in a tone so serious that Zuko suddenly sat up. The tone, more than the words, stuck with him all the way back to the palace. Throughout the three hour horse ride he could not felt but fixate on what Iroh was so scared off. He had known better than to ask; if his uncle wanted to tell him, he would have done do.

"My goodness Toph, what are you getting me into?" Zuko said under his breath as the palace came into view.

He might have waited till breakfast before telling her, after all the sun was barely up and he knew that Toph was not a morning person. But that was exactly why he chose to march straight to her room. Of course, waking her up early was not nearly as much of an inconvenience as her running off when she was supposed to be finding a husband, but it was still something.

"Toph, wake up." Zuko yelled as he swung open her door hard enough for it to hit the wall. Some girls managed to wake up looking breath-taking. Slightly mussed hair, glowing skin, and sometimes, if you were lucky, a half smile from some good dream they were having. Mai was one of those girls, her dead-straight her, for once, looked almost approachable, she would give one of those rare smiles and when she caught him staring, would ask, almost playfully, 'what?'. Toph was not one of those girls. She sat up groggily; her hair formed a crazed mess sticking out at arabesque angles. She narrowed her eyes in irritation, "are you trying to die?"

"Fine, I'll go with you to the spirit world, but first you have to explain how you plan to get there." He said sternly. He thought he had done a rather good job of standing his ground, of showing her that he was fire lord and so things happened on his terms.

But she did a better job. "Zuko, you have five seconds to leave and let me go back to sleep before I murder you." If there was a 'time she ever looked terrifying, this was it. He was about to speak, to work harder to stand his ground. But Toph glared at him menacingly and pointed at the door, and just like that the firelord retreated from standing his ground.

A few hours later she came strolling into his office as though nothing had happened. "So what was so important that you had to wake me up? I don't think I remember what you said."

He was not sure what annoyed him more, her strolling in as though she was not making him abandon his duties as fire lord, or her sitting down and causally putting her feet up as though she had not chosen to pretend he had never told her how he felt. He wanted to slam his palms on the table, and force her to see that running away was not going to suddenly fix everything. When they got back, they would still be in the same position. He liked her, maybe loved her. And she was content to simply 'go on an adventure' as though that would solve it all.

"I said I would come with you if you explain how you plan to get to the spirit world." Zuko said. Of course she was glib about it; she turned her head to the side and blew a stray strand of hair away from her face as though merely speaking to him was a struggle.

"Ask Shen; I don't know. He invited me to go along with him."

"And you just said yes? You are going to run off with some stranger?" Zuko asked incredulously.

"Do I do it any other way?" she smirked. Zuko did not reply. Noticing his irritation she quickly added, "But I invited you along, because you did say not to run off without letting you know."

"I have firelord duties. Do you forget that real people have responsibilities?" he snapped, his voice rising significantly with every word.

Toph drop her feet off the table and stood up angrily, "You don't have to yell at me Zuko. Fine, don't come. I don't need you there. When you act like this, I am not even sure I want you there."

"Of course I have to come. Your father left me in charge. I have to protect you." He stood up, palms pressed against the desk, leaning forward slightly so he was almost in her face.

"Nobody is ever in charge of me. And I can protect myself. You know what, invitation rescinded." With that she spun around sharply and stormed away.

"I am coming with you. Toph I am serious." Zuko yelled as she slammed the door behind her. He sank back into his seat and, in frustration, sent a ball of fire hurtling towards the door. She was impossible. How entitled was she that she refused to acknowledge how inconveniencing her behaviour was? Toph, do you feel the same about me? No answer, instead she just asks him to drop his life and follow her. But perhaps he would have felt better if she demanded he follow, instead of half-heartedly extending an after-thought of an invitation.

Ten minute later, his office door opened slowly and Toph peeked in, "Zuko?"

"What?" He meant to snap, but instead it came out more like the whining of an offended five year old. Toph stepped inside and smiled. She had two smiles, the smile of mischief that made Zuko reflexively brace himself either for the unexpected, and the much rarer but so much more disarming smile she was putting on right now.

"We are leaving in two days, so get your kingdom together and stop yelling at me."

Zuko badly wanted to ask if she would ever give him an answer, but she was standing there looking so harmless and beautiful. This was her way of making amends, the least he could do was play along. "So I still get to go?" He asked, his voice softening.

"Only if you behave." She teased. They both smiled, ignoring the numerous questions that weighed down the air between them.

Somehow they maintained that carefully constructed amiability. For two days they kept up the façade, so when they finally showed up to Shen's home, bags packed, no one would have guessed they had ever fought. "You brought a guest?" The water bender asked, his lake-blue eyes fixed on the fire lord.

"Zuko's my trusty side-kick," Toph said with a broad grin.

"I am glad you could join us firelord Zuko." Shen bowed.

Zuko waved him off quickly, "No need for that-"

"You'll make his head grow too big." Toph cut in as she shoved Zuko playfully. "Forget the pleasantries; I want to explore the spirit world."

Zuko rolled his eyes and Shen smiled at the couple in front of him; an unstoppable flame and an immovable mountain. Well, at least they would keep the journey amusing. "Follow me." Shen said as he led them into his home.

Zuko and Toph followed him down a set of stairs, underground and into a completely empty room, save a white water-tribe fur rug hanging on one of the walls. Shen closed his eyes and placed his palms together. When he opened them again, they were glowing bright, white and a strong wind began to pick up in the room. Toph reflexively took a step closer towards Zuko. Slowly grass and trees began to creep into the room from nowhere. They grew up the walls and overtook the dry earth that was under his feet a minute ago. Shen look at Zuko and swept his hand in the direction of the forest that had just appeared out of nowhere. "Welcome to the spirit world Zuko. I am sorry, but here there are no fire lords."

Zuko stepped forward cautiously. The room around him was quickly fading, and before he knew it the forest stretched in all directions. He almost jumped at the sound of hooves. Out of nowhere, a dark haired woman stepped from behind the trees, she was holding onto the harness of four animals that almost looked like horses, save the antlers and the long fur. "Ah, Jia." Shen said excitedly as he ran to help the woman. She looked away quickly as though too frightened to meet his gaze. Zuko could not help but wonder how such an intimidating and austere woman could fall apart so quickly and obviously. He looked at Toph, could she fall apart as quickly? Or was she made of some special kind of rock?

"Are those horses?" Toph asked apprehensively, "I don't ride horses. Can't we walk?"

Shen looked at her, and then at the horses. If they were to walk to the hidden mountains they would never make it there and back in time. He looked over at Jia who sighed; she would always have to do that basic thinking for him. "Ride with the firelord." She said curtly. She would sooner die that suggest Toph ride with Shen.

"I don't think I want to. He's annoying." She said half-playfully.

"It's bonding time," Shen grinned that charming, bright grin that usually got him his way. Except with Toph, it was completely ineffective. "It will be just like when you travelled with Avatar Aang."

So that is how they went along, Shen and Jia each on their own mounts, and Toph sitting in front of Zuko. It was strange to see her like this. To most she looked like the normal, confident Toph, but he could feel her fingers gripping his forearm too tightly and if the mount so much as swayed too much her voice hitched. She was brass and swagger, so he often forget that on some rare occasions Toph Bei Fong felt fear "Are you scared?" Zuko whispered.

"Shut it princes, I am not scared." She whispered back. She was completely blind, and that unnerved her like nothing else. She hated being so vulnerable. Left to her, they would walk everywhere. She held on even tighter to Zuko's forearms, the warmth was slightly reassuring, but he would never be as reassuring as the earth beneath her feet.

"I am not going to let you fall off or anything." He said softly, in hopes of calming her nerves.

"Yeah, because you know I will kill you." She replied sharply. He laughed and her fingers relaxed their grip slightly. She settled against him and as they rode. The more she relaxed, the more she realised just how sturdy Zuko was. To be honest, if it had been anyone else she would never have agreed to such an arrangement, but no matter how annoying Zuko got, he was the closest thing to earth she had in her life.

Zuko smiled to himself. He had been afraid that they would never stop fighting, even now he worried that one of them would say something and tempers would flare. Being around her was exciting and exhausting because they both had short fuses and hard heads. Naturally, he wanted an answer from her. He was impatient and every minute he spent not knowing where he stood with her, was damn near torture. But he had learned to hold his tongue, so he sat on his impatience and decided he would wait for her to say something when she was ready. And that is how he knew he truly liked her, because he was not this patient even with his uncle.

"Hey, can you describe the spirit world to me?" Toph asked. Zuko looked at the world around him, so familiar yet so utterly foreign and new.

"I will do my best." Zuko said as he watched another bird fly through the trees. Well, he believed it was a bird, but its tail feathers were so long, and so strangely iridescent that it could very well have been something else entirely. He narrowed his eyes slightly and fought to find the perfect words to bring the spirit world to life.

They seemed to have been travelling for an eternity before Shen pulled up beside them and told them they were setting up camp. Zuko stopped the mount and let out a sigh of relief, "where did you find such a slave driver?" he said to Toph as he helped her down. Using him for support, she slowly and nervously dismounted. Once she was far enough down, an impatient Zuko wrapped his hand around her waist and carried her down.

"Hey, he's from your nation. Maybe it's a fire bender thing." Toph pointed out.

"Well he really is a waterbender. Remember Katara?" Zuko replied, his hand still draped lightly around her waist.

"She is the original slave-driver." Toph laughed.

"You guys could wait till we set up camp." Shen teased, "With a little bit of help we will be done in no time and the happy couple can pick up where they left off."

"Of course," Zuko said, quickly dropping his hand once he noticed he was still holding on to Toph. He wasn't sure why, but a part of his just disliked Shen, perhaps it was his overly sunny disposition, or his sad attempts to be slick. Either way, he could really do without the waterbender who liked to think he was from the firenation.

"Shut it waterboy, just tell me what you need help with." Toph said as she stepped away from Zuko and towards Shen.

"You and I can get water for everyone. I like to stick to my strengths." He said as he led her away. She followed him towards a stream a few meters from where they had decided to stop.

"Do you think the firenation will accept an earthbender as firelady?" Shen teased, "I mean what happens if your first child is an earthbender?"

"Shut up. I don't even know what I am doing," Toph's voice grew noticeably softer, "I am just happy we aren't fighting so much anymore. I don't know why we were, it must have been because we were both so confused."

"And now?"

"Well who cares?" She shrugged as she bent the ground to form a large bucket, "Yeah, at first I was mad at him for expecting me to drop my life and fall into his arms. Who the hell does he think he is? But then I realised that he's just as emotionally constipated as I am. Guess we fit."

"Yeah, and would be the most terrifying couple. I mean sure, there is the Avatar and his fiancée, but they are nice." Shen said as he waterbent water from the stream into the bucket.

"And I'm not nice?" Toph asked as she jabbed him lightly in the side.

"You are intimidating. And Zuko is terrifying. You have the largest, most populous nation hailing you as its hero, your father one of the most influential traders and investors, and Zuko is ruler of the wealthiest and most militarily capable kingdom. Together, who would dare cross you?"

Toph smirked, "Please, I don't need all that behind me for people not to dare cross me. I am Toph Bei Fong, greatest earthbender alive; people are too scared to be my enemies." She turned from him and walked back towards the camp. Shen watched as the bucket dragged on the ground, following her back to camp. His one vice, was his extreme competitiveness. It was the only trait he could not control, and somehow jokingly explaining to Toph how she and the firelord would be the definition of a 'power-couple', suddenly made him realise how true that was. And suddenly, he wanted that for himself, but Jia just wouldn't do. If he was going to rule both the spirit and the physical world, it was only right that he had the best at his side.

The moment Toph got back to the camp she made her way towards Zuko who was unpacking the supplies. "How come you got stuck with this?" she asked,

"Well, Jia thinks I am useless just because I haven't cooked in years and made a few mistakes. Uncle Iroh used to deal with all that." He said, somewhat irritated at how coldly the dark haired woman had asked him to stop helping.

"Are you upset?" Toph teased as she purposefully did nothing to help Zuko unpack, "because she is right. You are completely useless, I mean I had to run your kingdom for you and I'm the genius who ran away with strangers when she was twelve."

"Right, like you could do any better." Zuko said as he unpacked the last of the supplies, "I guess team useless is reunited."

"Being apart was never a good look on either of us." Toph said, "Well, more so you. I am phenomenal enough on my own, you on the other hand were a struggling fire lord."

"Right, right, that's why I am the one who is lined up to enter an arranged marriage."

"hey," Toph objected as she pushed him lightly, "I _was_ lined up."

For a moment Zuko thought he may have heard wrong. He looked at her intently, "You are not going through with it? Why?"

"Don't play stupid princess. You know very well why, and you are going to have to explain to the earth king why the earth kingdom can't have its blind bandit back. There were talks of making me a royal advisor, and now you just had to ruin everything." Of course she sounded more sure than she actually was. Toph was working very hard to sound as casual as possible even though she was making the decision on the spot. But the hours she had spent travelling with Zuko, how comfortable he made her feel, and how important he was to her, made her realise that she was only fighting him because she was upset he had waited so long to tell her. She was upset that, had she not brought it up, he would have just let her marry some random person. Shen was right, when it came down to it, it could only be Zuko.

"Are you serious? Do you know how much trouble you will be in? I am the firelord, I am fine. You on the other hand-"

"Fine, if you want me to please Lao Bei Fong that badly I can always be a good little daughter and marry who she is asked to. I don't like you _that_ much anyway." She teased, but Zuko might have taken her a bit too seriously.

"No." He blurted out as he grabbed her hand. He lifted one hand to her face. Milky green eyes looked back up at him. "We really are useless you know. The one thing we are meant to be good at, taking orders and doing what is best for your family name, or your nation, we cannot do."

Toph had never been one for drama, or making situations unnecessarily long. She closed the gap between them and pressed her lips to his before Zuko could become overly 'sweet'. Zuko wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her tightly against him. They were in the spirit world; nothing from the physical world mattered, not even the ugly business of politics and strategic marriages that had forced itself into their lives.


	5. Disappearing Act

**Disappearing Act**

Shen stopped his mount so sharply that Zuko almost missed when he did. The antlered horse neighed nervously and Zuko did his best to calm it down, but that seemed to help very little. "What is going on Shen?" The fire lord asked. Shen looked at his with cold, levelled eyes and slowly led his horse closer to Zuko's.

"Toph, hold on to Zuko very tightly, because I am going to run once I start moving, Zuko you have to follow me." He said in a barely audible whisper.

"What is going on?" Zuko demanded.

"Run." Shen said sharply as he pushed his horse into a sprint. No sooner had Zuko set off, than a large, almost shapeless form burst through the forest behind them. Its roar echoed through the forest as it chased after the three horses.

"Split up!" Shen commanded, his voice nearly hoarse from yelling instructions. Zuko veered left, Jia right and Shen kept going straight on. The spirit veered left, it's eyes locked on the bright red of Zuko's shirt.

"Fuck." The firelord cursed under this breath as he leaned forward, in hope of somehow pushing his mount to move faster. He could feel Toph's finger gripping his arm tightly, and then suddenly he couldn't. He turned the horse sharply and raced toward the fallen Earth-bender who was picking herself up from the ground.

Toph stamped the ground and sent a pillar straight towards the beast. It struck it square in the chest, sending it stumbling a few feet backwards. "Don't you dare mess with me." She said triumphantly, but her pride quickly turned to fear as the beast got up as though nothing had happened and kept barrelling towards her. Zuko leapt off the horse and shot a wall of fire towards the beast, he grabbed Toph by the waist and pulled her out of the way just as a massive fist came crashing where she had once stood.

"What is that thing?" She asked, her voice sounding much more sure and confident than she was.

"Ask Shen." Zuko said, his anger almost palpable.

"It's like we didn't even hit it." Toph said in disbelief. As the beast raised its fists, ready to strike again. She struck her heel to the ground and a massive hole opened up and swallowed the spirit. "Time to run." She said as she grabbed Zuko's hand and dragged him along. They had barely made it three feet away when, out of nowhere, the beast floated out of the ground.

"We are so dead." Zuko breathed as he stepped forward to place himself between Toph and the spirit.

"Both of you, down!" Shen voice came out of nowhere. Zuko turned just in time to see Shen barrelling towards them. His eyes fixed on the spirit. Without hesitation, Shen pulled the water out of nearby plants and aimed bound the spirit with it. He was about to start purifying it when it broke free and struck him, sending him flying through the two other benders. Shen scrambled to his feet, dead leaves crunching underneath his feet as he tried to steady himself.

"You don't want to start with me." The water bender said darkly. He spread his arms, and shut his eyes tightly. Zuko could feel the air around him grow lighter and lighter. He watched speechless as the water bender started to slowly levitate off the ground. A bright white light spilled from his eyes and wrapped itself around the spirit, forcing it to the ground. Using the last of its energy, the spirit reach out for something, anything. It caught Toph's ankle and began dragging her towards it.

"Zuko!" She screamed as she reached out for her. Zuko shot a blast of fire toward the spirit which, in the swiftest of motions let go of Toph and grabbed the fire lord instead. And just like that it all stopped. Shen fell to the ground painfully, unconscious. Toph looked around, paralysed by the sheer inability to process what had just happened.

There was no beast, but no Zuko either. She turned, hoping to ask the water bender just what just happened, but he was unconscious and looked pale as death. "Zuko?" She yelled, hoping his disappearance were some cruel joke. She looked at the unconscious water bender and then into the distance, torn as to whether to run and look for Zuko and leave Shen alone and vulnerable, or stay with the water bender who most likely knew exactly where her friend had disappeared to.

By the time Shen opened his eyes the sun was already setting behind the trees. The moment he stirred Toph sprang to her feet and ran towards him. He expected an inquiry into his health, perhaps a 'thank you' for saving her, what he did not expect were for her first words to be "Zuko disappeared!"

Shen sat up and did his best to conceal his irritation, "What do you mean 'Zuko is gone'?" he asked.

"That thing grabbed him, and disappeared along with him." She said, the panic in her voice was almost palpable. "There was no trace, they just disappeared. We have to find him."

Shen made a great show of lowering his head in the most humble and apologetic way he could, "I am so sorry Toph,"

"What happened to Zuko?" The ice in her voice was almost enough to frighten him.

"I banished the spirit that attacked us, and it must have dragged Zuko along with it." Shen explained. It amazed him how easily he could read her. He could see her cycle through anger, fear, and confusion as though the emotions were written across her forehead, "He is fine. I promise. Banishment is basically suspended time. He won't know anything happened."

"How do we bring him back?" She asked.

"The hidden mountains. At the top of the hidden mountains, there is a portal and I can just go in and bring him back."

Shen almost smiled as he saw her feature relax. "I am sorry Toph, I never expected this to happen. You see, my family has guarded the portals between the human world and the spirit world for centuries now. I don't know why, but recently some of the spirits have been agitated – I have never seen anything like what happened today. I am so sorry, I swear I will bring Zuko back safely. For now, I will send you back to the human world and-"

"Do not even dream about it, water boy. I am coming with you." Toph cut in sharply.

"You don't have to, it might be dangerous." Shen said, making a great show of dissuading her.

"Yeah, well I am dangerous too." Toph said.

"Well then we should get going right now, Jia and I always have a meet-up spot. The sooner we move, the sooner we can get Zuko out of banishment." She said as he forced himself to stand up. The moment he was upright he began to teeter and in the blink of an eye Toph had her arm around his waist and was supporting him.

"Do not kill yourself waterboy." She huffed. He looked at her and smiled,

"Yes ma'am." He said playfully as he placed his arm around her shoulder and allowed her to help him along.

"Thank you for rescuing me." Toph said as she awkwardly helped along the much taller man.

"Please, like the blind bandit ever needs rescuing."

Zuko watched helplessly as Toph and the water bender walked away. A part of him wanted to just sit under a tree and forget everything. For hours he had tried to get her attention, but he might as well have been a ghost because she could neither see him nor hear him. And perhaps he would have just sat there and cursed his existence had Shen not locked eyes with him the moment Toph asked about him. The waterbender could see him. He couldn't seem to hear him, because no matter how many times Zuko tried to speak to him, Shen did not flinch at all. But Zuko was sure Shen could see him. He had to believe that, because it was only that belief that forced him to walk after them, hoping that perhaps that brief moment of eye contact had not been some fluke.

….

Shen and Jia watched as the earth bender drew small concentric circles in the ground. Right next to her a rather dejected fire lord stared helplessly at her, but only Shen could see that, to both Toph and Jia the fire lord was invisible. "I almost feel bad." Shen said to Jia, "I didn't know losing someone could make people so sad."

"That is generally what happens when you care about someone." Jia said tersely, not quite pleased with how much Shen was musing about Toph's feelings. That man cared about nothing but himself, so seeing him so preoccupied with someone else irritated her to no end. Shen sighed, stood up and walked over to Toph. He sat down on the ground next to her and placed his hand on the stick she had been using to draw on the ground.

"I swear I will bring him back, we only have two more days till we reach the hidden mountains." He said so sincerely that he almost believed himself.

"It's not your fault Shen. I just wish he hadn't tried to save me. Idiot. I don't need saving." She said. Shen placed an arm around her gently,

"Eh, you can't blame him; I would have done the same thing for you in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, and I would call you an idiot too." She retorted, he could see the beginnings of a smile tug at her lips. "At least I know he is ok."

Shen wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "Do not even think twice about him for now, I swear on my life he is perfectly safe." As he spoke those words he locked eyes with the fire lord and then Zuko knew for sure.

Zuko rose sharply to his feet, "you can see me can't you? Don't play dumb because I know you can."

Shen smiled slightly before closing his eyes and resting his head on Toph's shoulder.

"What the hell are you playing at Shen?" Zuko demanded, to no answer. "Tell her I am right here; tell her you can see me." He yelled. Still no answer, instead the water bender went along as though nothing was happening.

Zuko felt his anger rising, and for the first time in year he let it go as far as it wanted. He let his anger get the best of him. He threw his head back and breathed out a flame so hot that he himself was surprised.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Thanks for tolerating my absurdly long hiatus. Reviews are always welcome_


	6. Lion Turtle

**Lion Turtle**

"Have you ever heard of the lion turtles?" Shen asked Toph, after so much time travelling on a horse she had gotten used to the feeling and no longer held his forearm in her surprisingly strong grip.

"Aang mentioned dreaming about one, but I don't think anyone aside him has ever mentioned them." She shrugged.

"Well, they were the ones who first taught humans how to bend. Each lion turtle has an affinity for one element, and they were the ones who granted the first avatar all four elements." He explained, "Have you ever heard of spirit bending?"

"Wait, yes." Toph said excitedly, she straightened her posture so quickly that she almost threw herself off balance. Shen quickly let one hand off the reigns and wrapped his arm around her waist, stabilising her.

"You should be a little more careful. I don't want you to fall off."

"I was nowhere close to falling off." Toph protested. She was uncomfortably aware of his arm around her waist and tried to move so he would let go but the water-bender was stupid or extremely stubborn because he kept his arm firmly in place. "You can let go of me, you know." She said, we'd probably go faster if you did."

"I don't think that's how horses work." He laughed, "and I would rather you didn't accidently fall off. Zuko would have my head if anything happened to you."

"And I will have your hand if you don't let me go." Toph said playfully enough to make Shen laugh, but with enough seriousness to make him reluctantly let her go.

The ride was normal, everything seemed normal, until suddenly it was not. Toph couldn't understand how, but she just _knew_ what was around them. She had this unwavering certainty that they were making their way towards a lake, but she could not explain how she knew. "Shen," She said, her voice almost shaky, "Is there a lake ahead?"

The water bender looked at her, puzzled, "Yes, how did you know? It's extremely still so you couldn't have heard it."

"I didn't. I just _know_."

He quickly stopped the horse, and Jia, who had been watching them with a silent disdain, stopped her horse as well. Shen got off and helped Toph off as well. "It's the lion turtles," He explained, "and I think they are speaking to you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, who wouldn't want to speak to the greatest earth bender of all time?" Shen said as he slipped his hand in hers and led her towards the lake.

"Can they help me find Zuko?" Toph asked, too shaken by her sudden innate awareness of her surroundings to let go of Shen.

Before Shen could answer a massive lion turtle broke the surface of the water. Toph took a reflexive step backwards, "I know what it looks like." She breathed.

"Toph Bei Fong." A voice boomed around her. Shen let go of her hand and pushed her forward gently. She took a deep breath and walked forward, the water at the edge of the lake swirled around her feet.

"I lost a friend here in the spirit world, and I need to find him." She said, her voice more confident than she was. Massive would have been putting the size of the lion turtle mildly. She wasn't even sure what is was or whether it could help her find Zuko.

The lion turtle looked past her and locked eyes with the water-bender, whose lips where turned up in a self-satisfied smirk. He nodded sharply and reluctantly, the turtle lifted a massive hand in Toph's direction and placed one claw gently between her eyes. Immediately she felt her mind go white.

Suddenly there were so many lion turtles, she was moving so fast over their bodies as dark spirits crawled over them. There was this panicked urgency, this pained need to move faster and faster and faster and suddenly something grabbed her and pulled her back with so much force that she thought her head would explode. She looked backwards and saw Shen fix bright blue eyes fixed on her. She never thought eyes could be so frightening. She felt something pull her back again and slowly her limbs went numb. "I am the master now." A voice that was unmistakable Shen's rang in her ears.

He was in front of her, but he was so tiny – it took her a while to realise that she _was_ the lion turtle. "My time has come, and you will make me king." His voice was clear, confident and frightening. "I know, my mother's attempt to learn spirit bending destroyed her spirit. I am not going to be nearly that foolish. But from here on out you are mine and you will do as I saw, unless you want to go extinct."

There was another bright flash of white before she found herself staring at the lion turtle, "His line was supposed to be the guardian of the spirit world and all the beings in it, but we made them too powerful and now he wants to use you to usurp the avatar, to rule both the spirit and the physical worlds. I do not have enough time to explain; otherwise he will get suspicious, but be wary. I am sorry that you have to do this, but your friends are still there for you."

"How do I reach them? Where is Zuko? I don't know how to get back!"

"Your friend is back in the physical world, safe. But Shen cannot know you know anything about what I showed you, all you know is spirit bending. That is all we spoke about."

"We didn't-" Before Toph could finish her sentence she found herself standing alone at the edge of the lake.

"Toph?" She heard Shen call out to her, he ran towards her and placed an arm around her shoulder. It took all her will power not to push him away from her, but just remembering that look in his eyes. Why did that have to be the one thing she ever got to see? "Are you alright? I have never seen the lion turtles talk to a human before."

Toph nodded sharply, "He said something about spirit bending, but I don't understand what he meant." Perhaps she nodded a bit too sharply because suddenly she felt her head start to swim; she felt as though she were swaying on her feet so she spread her feet a bit in an attempt to ground herself.

"Spirit bending is a way to control the spirits themselves, at the milder end you can take away bending abilities, or give them back. At the more extreme end you can change the nature of spirits themselves. You can bind them, free them-"

"Shen…" Toph said softly before falling forward. Shen caught her easily and found that she was surprisingly light.

"I guess spirit bending takes its toll on even someone like her." Jia, who had been bitterly quite since Zuko left and Shen began doting on Toph, said.

"Yeah, but at least it didn't rip her spirit apart." Shen shot back, "Not my earth bender, she is tough." He brushed her bang away from her face and smiled, "You don't know it yet, but you are going to make me king of it all."

She was not sure how, but somehow she was in Zuko's office. The very one she had yelled at him in. The fire lord was staring out the window with his back to her. "Zuko?" She said, not quite sure she wasn't dreaming. He spun round quickly and stared at her with wide eyes,

"Toph? How did you get here?"

"I don't know. I was in the spirit world, and there was a lion turtle and now I am here." She said so quickly he was almost unable to make out the words as she ran them together. He walked towards her and wrapped his arms tightly around her,

"I don't know how I got back either, I just woke up in my office. I thought you would never see me again. That bastard better never leave the spirit world because if he does, we are going to fight a god damn agni kai." He said, still refusing to let go of her in case she disappeared and he found out he was simply hallucinating. He pulled back slightly so he could see her face, but he kept his arms wrapped around her waist, "he could see me you know, I don't know why but that bastard just pretended I was gone."

"I am scared." Her words caught him so completely off guard that for a moment he did not quite understand what they meant.

"Shen is very dangerous. He killed most of the lion turtles and enslaved one of the last ones. I don't know how, but his family did. I don't know what he wants, but he made the lion turtle teach me to spirit bend. I am scared, find Aang and get me out of the spirit world."

Zuko raised a hand to her face and caressed it gently, "I promise I will save you, but make sure you don't kill him before I get there."

Toph furrowed her brows, she could feel her anger rising, "I… ugh. That is going to be so hard. How dare him make me scared." She stomped her foot sharply and the flame from the torch on the wall roared angrily. Zuko stepped back quickly,

"I didn't do that." He said slowly,

"Yes you did."

"No, you did. You got warmer and Toph…"

"… Toph," The voice sounded so far away. "Toph." There it was again, somewhere between Zuko and Shen's voice. She opened her eyes slowly and groaned as she felt cool earth underneath her.

"Are you ok? You passed out." Shen said, his voice thick with concern.

Toph sat up, she almost told him she had dreamt about Zuko, but thought better of it. There was no need to tell him things he did not need to know. "I want to go back to the real world." Toph said firmly. She knew it might have been a dream, but something told her that the lion turtle had indeed sent Zuko back. "The lion turtle said it sent Zuko back, so I need to go and make sure he is safe."

"I don't know-" Shen began to speak but Toph cut him off in a tone that meant she was not to be taken lightly.

"You are going to take me back. Right now."

He looked over at Jia who was quietly seething a few feet away from them, she was so reliable; she had done everything he had ever told her to do, she never threw his plans off course. He looked back at Toph whose milky green eyes didn't bother to hide the threat behind her words. She was making life harder for him but what could he do but nod obediently?

He had to have her.


End file.
